The Island
by RedRose900
Summary: The wedding celebrations of Katniss Everdeen and her fiance Gale Hawthorne are in full swing as the wedding party arrives on Silvis Island. But things are not as they seem, and each and every one of the guests is in for a surprise when strange events begin to occur in the run up to the big day...
1. Splendours You Never Have Dreamed

**Disclaimer: I obviously don't own The Hunger Games, nor do I own Harpers Island on which this fan fiction is loosely based. Enjoy.**

_**Splendours You Never Have Dreamed-**_

The sun was bright in the sky over the marina, where a boat was waiting to take the wedding party to its destination, Silvis Island. The decks were loitered with guests- dressed for the occasion and in high excitement for the events to come. They chatted, sipped on champagne and watched the seagulls swoop and soar in over the water as they waited for their departure. Yes, the wedding celebrations were to be a spectacular occasion, and none was more excited than the bride-to-be's younger sister.

"- and the flowers arrangements are just beautiful. Katniss, this is going to be so amazing" gushed Primrose Everdeen as she stood with he sister on the highest deck of the boat. At 17, Primrose was ecstatic to have been appointed maid of honour and had been in a flurry of excitement ever since. Her sister however, was much less enthusiastic.

"I just don't see why we're going to all this bother. I would've been just as happy getting married at the registry office." She said good naturedly, fidgeting with the neckline on her burgundy dress. This was all too much. Too over the top and definitely not what she'd ever have chosen for herself. But her mother had insisted on 'the perfect wedding' and this included hiring the best wedding planner in the state, Effie Trinket. From the moment Effie had been hired, the wedding planning had become a seemingly never ending parade of pink ribbons, flowers and sampling every type of cake known to man. And Katniss, who had never been good at those sort of things, had simply let her do what she wanted.

"You just don't want to be the centre of attention" remarked Prim teasingly, giving Katniss a playful poke in the arm. A loud burst of laughter sounded from the deck below. Leaning over the rails, Katniss could see her college roommate downing champagne in the centre of a crowd of guys.

"No, I think that's really more Johanna's job" laughed Katniss, and Prim joined her. A moment later, Effie Trinket swanned over towards them and the sisters immediately stopped laughing.

"Do we have everyone here now? Ready to go?"

"Umm…I don't think Delly Cartwright is here yet. Can we wait 5 minutes?" Katniss asked, though she knew the exact reply she would be receiving.

"Well if you want to end up behind schedule then of course we can wait." Effie's tone was pleasant, as always but Katniss knew that her wedding planner greatly disliked having her plans muddled.

"Delly's down there" said Prim, pointing to the lower deck. "Looks like we can leave now".

"Wonderful" trilled Effie, clapping her hand together "I'll just go and tell the captain".

And with that she marched off, her silver heels clacking against the wooden deck of the boat as the vessel shuddered into activity. Prim disappeared downstairs to find her mother, while Katniss watched as the boat began to swiftly sail out of the marina. As she did so, she felt a pair of familiar arms wrap round her waist.

"Having a good time?"

"Can't you tell?" smiled Katniss, rolling her eyes as she turned to face Gale.

"It's a bit over the top isn't it?" he commented, shooting a grimace at the pink roses which line the rails of the boat.

"Just a little" smirked Katniss, leaning in and giving her fiancé a light kiss before suddenly pulling back. "Crap, here comes Effie again. Let's go downstairs before she comes over"

Hand in hand, the couple climbed the short staircase down to the lower deck where they were greeted with a loud cheer from their guests. It was all Katniss could do to smile and not glare at them all. Prim had been right, Katniss really did not enjoy being the centre of attention. Even at her own wedding.

Silvis Island was situated about 37 miles off the coast of Seattle. The plan was to spend five days there. Four days of celebrations before the ultimate event, the wedding on the 5th day. Given the situation of the wedding, only a limited number of guests were able to attend the festivities. Only forty five in total. Not that this bothered Katniss, if she'd had it her way she and Gale would've gotten married at the registry office with just their closest friends and family members. But Lillian, her mother, had wanted it to be big. Her oldest daughter getting married, of course that was something she wanted to be made special. And Effie Trinket had done just that.

Gale's mother, Hazelle, had been less involved with the planning. In her mind, a wedding should be about the couple in love- not about how extravagant the decorations were. But she'd stood with Lillian, Prim and Katniss, feigning delight at table decorations, hair accessories and bridesmaids shoes and it was during this time that Hazelle realised her future daughter in law shared her views. She and Katniss had shared many discussion on the topic of the over the top wedding , but had both eventually agreed that it was simply best to go along with the read set plans. There would be no changing Lillian's mind, let alone Effie's. Voicing their opinion would only have caused an unnecessary argument followed by tension which may well have ruined the wedding completely. Yes, Hazelle thought it was best to simply avoid an argument. Until she saw her daughters flower girl dress. Posy had cried for an hour after seeing her reflection in the mirror while wearing it, where she resembled an over large pink rosebud. The dress, complete with puffed up sleeves, numerous ribbons and a headpiece which almost completely obscured Posy's face had been a step to far for Hazelle. She had put her foot down and the resulting disagreement meant that she was now avoiding Lillian Everdeen for the rest of the wedding.

The deep teal waves splashed against the sides of the boat while the guest mingled and chatted. Katniss found herself the subject of many hugs throughout the journey, but none was as enthusiastic as Delly Cartwright's.

"Katniss, this is just lovely!" squealed Delly as she threw her arms around her old friend, who responded by weekly patting her on the back.

"Thanks…I'm glad you like it"

"Are you kidding? I love it. With the whole boat, and then the wedding on an island? This is going to be amazing!"

The young man beside Delly, whom Katniss vaguely recognized cleared his throat.

"Katniss, you remember Peeta right?" asked Delly, grabbing Peeta's arm and pulling him into the conversation.

"Umm…." began Katniss. She recognized him, yes, but from where she didn't know.

"He went to school with us. His parents ran the….."

"Bakery" finished Katniss "Yes, I remember now. Nice to see you again"

She and Peeta shook hands, and he smiled softly at her.

"I hope it's ok, Delly invited me to be her plus one"

"No, that's fine" Katniss smiled back "So…are you two together?"

"No, don't be silly" laughed Delly loudly, causing several nearby people to glance over.. "Peeta and I are just friends. I thought he might like to come to your wedding. Do you know, I remember he had such crush on you in high school…"

"No I didn't Delly, you're thinking of someone else" said Peeta uncomfortably, running a hand through his blond hair.

"Am I? Silly me. Well Katniss, I'm sure you've got plenty of other guests to chat to so I'll let you go" Delly beamed, giving Katniss one last hug before prancing to the other side of the deck, dragging an embarrassed looking Peeta behind her.

"If you ask me, that girl has had far to much to drink already" Katniss heard Johanna say from behind her.

"That's just the way she is Jo. Not everyone is a chronic alcoholic you know"

"You're mean. I come all the way from New York to see you get married and this is how I get thanked? Maybe I'll ask the driver to turn back so I can go home"

"Very funny" said Katniss, rolling her eyes. "Like you'd pass up a week long party"

The two had met four years previously , when they were assigned to room together at college. Katniss always remembered her college days as one of the best times in her life. It was then that she had first moved away from her mother, gained several new friends and really began to live her life. It was then that Gale, her best friend since childhood and her boyfriend since high school had first proposed to her. And now they were going to be married. Despite the celebrations not quite fitting in to her taste, and despite the fact that her mother and Hazelle now refused to talk to one another Katniss was sure that the following few days would be looked back on in years to come with happiness and joy. How wrong she was.


	2. By The Beautiful Sea

_**By The Beautiful Sea-**_

As the boat pulled into the small Silvis Island marina, the guests couldn't help but be in awe of their beautiful surroundings. The island was mostly forest, with a small fishing village, several summer homes and the large, inviting Capitol Inn. It was here that they majority of the wedding festivities would occur, before progressing to the small woodland church where the wedding would be held. As much as her mother's wedding plans had irritated her, Katniss could not help but admire the choice of location.

Breaking off into smaller groups, the guests were herded from the marina to the hotel in the luggage carrier cars. The sun was still shining bright and a cheerful, more relaxed atmosphere had settled over the group.

The wedding party had the entire in for the week and since it was off-season for visitors they practically had the whole island to themselves, save for a few locals. Effie had described it as 'an escape from the outside world". Katniss just wished she could escape from her wedding planner.

The Capitol Inn was a vast, old building complete with decorative wooden beams surrounding the dull grey brick. Inside, the main lounge and dining area were decked out ready for the guest's arrival with an array of balloons, banners and flowers. Music was playing in the background and the rooms were soon filled with the chatter and bubble of the guests.

At the small reception desk, Effie was busy briefing the hotel manager on the plans for the week, while instructing the waiter on the best way to set the tables for the night's meal. Lillian Everdeen was fussing over her youngest daughter's hair, re-arranging it into the up do from which it had previously slipped while shooting glances in the general direction of Hazelle Hawthorne.

Surprisingly, dinner was served without a hitch and afterwards more champagne was passed around. Someone opened a crate of beer. Katniss's attempts to stay off the radar of her guests had failed miserably, and she again found herself at the centre of attention. Following Effie's strict advice, Katniss made sure to circle the room- personally greeting as many of her guests as she could. This proved harder and harder as the night wore on and many guests retreated to the further corners of the hotel- back to their rooms for the night or else to one of the other lounges.

Katniss sound found that the more she drank, the more she enjoyed the party. Her smile was almost real when she was greeted by her cousin Clove, who'd brought along her boyfriend to the wedding. Upon seeing her, Clove embraced her cousin.

"Cato and I have been looking forward to this for ages, haven't we?"

"Yeah, it's one hell of a party" remarked Cato, taking a swig of his beer. "You know, I could've sworn there were more people when we were back on the boat".

"They've all wandered off I guess" Katniss told him, before asking Clove "Where's your dad gone, I haven't spoken to him yet?"

"Dunno" shrugged Clove. Somewhere in the background the music was turned up louder. "Off with my new 'mommy' no doubt".

Katniss's Uncle Brutus had recently married his fourth wife. Just like the others before her, Enobaria was much younger than her new husband. In fact, she'd been at college at the same time as Katniss and Gale had. She and Brutus had met at a college bar when Katniss's entire family had come to see her graduate. Clove wasn't too thrilled about the marriage. Neither was Johanna.

"What's that bitch doing here?" she asked, much later when Katniss was on her second circulation of the room

"I told you, she's married to my Uncle now"

"Gold-digging whore. I never liked her ,you know" slurred Johanna, giggling uncharacteristically and throwing an arm around her friend- clearly having drank to much.

"Yeah, I do know. I still remember when you slapped her at that sorority mixer".

"Good times, good times…..Katniss, guess what? We should go to a mixer! Now, let's go now." Johanna grabbed hold of Katniss's arm and began to pull her out of the lounge. She was pretty strong, even when severely drunk and it was a struggle for Katniss to free herself.

"We can go to a mixer tomorrow Jo. Why don't you head back to your room now?"

Johanna pouted. "Come on Katniss" she whined "It's way to early. It's like….it's like lunchtime…or something like that".

"Go take a lunchtime nap then" Katniss suggested. It was actually nearing eleven o'clock at night , but there was no point in arguing with Johanna in her current state. She'd never see sense.

With Johanna sent to bed like a child who had behaved badly, Katniss decided it was time to seek out some of her other, less drunken friends. This proved to be quite the challenge. At this time, the older and more sensible guests had long since departed to bed. In fact, Katniss was hard pressed to find anyone at all who was at that point sober. Even Gale was busily involved in a drinking game with his younger brother Rory, and judging by his use of language he seemed to be losing.

It was out on the terrace that Katniss eventually found who she'd been looking for. Madge Undersee had been Katniss's friend since early childhood, almost as long as Gale had. It was these years of friendship, and Madge's sweet, calming presence that had led Katniss to appoint her as a bridesmaid along with Prim and her friend Rue –who was so close to the Everdeen family she was practically another sister. Katniss had asked Johanna to be a part of the bridal party too, an offer which was refused.

"_You don't want me screwing up the plans and everything. Just ask some nice, normal people to do it and I'll be there to liven things up at the reception"._

"Are you okay?" Madge asked as Katniss approached her. She nodded weakly.

"Just a little overwhelmed, is all"

"You need to relax. Get away for a bit." Said Madge soothingly. She always knew the right things to say "I was thinking of taking a hike tomorrow, seeing the island. Want to come?"

"If Effie will let me" Katniss allowed herself a small smile. She was glad Madge was here, she was one of the few people who could make a potentially stressful situation enjoyable.

Down at the beach, two of the wedding guests had already begun their exploration of the island.

"Annie….Annie, wait. When I said swimming I mean in the pool" Finnick called after his girlfriend, who was already halfway to the water. The ocean was pitch black, and by this point the rest of the wedding party would be either too drunk or too tired to be of any use if something went wrong. Surely this was a bad idea but Finnick's sense of reason disappeared the moment Annie turned to face him, a familiar glint in her eye.

"You're not going to make me go alone are you" she asked, letting her dress slip from her pale shoulders to the rocky beach at her feet.

"A gentleman like me? Never" Finnick flashed her a smile as he began to undo his shirt.

"Race you!" called Annie, as she disappeared out into the waves. Finnick carefully laid his clothes by the water's edge before heading out to join the love of his life. The problem was, she was no longer there.

"Annie?"

All Finnick could see was the black water around him as he swam deeper into it's depths. Panic flooded through him. Where was she? A sharp tug on Finnick's ankle pulled him under the waves. It wasn't until he came back up, gasping for breath that he heard the tinkle of Annie's laughter.

"I got you that time" she teased. But Finnick wouldn't let her get the better of him. Not in the water, not on his turf. Needless to say, Annie stopped laughing when in a moment of rage, Finnick roughly pushed her back underwater.

"You jerk! It was just a joke!"

She was out of the water before Finnick could apologize, storming back to the shore. His clothes lay neatly on the beach, safely out of the water's reach. But not for long. With one toss from Annie, Finnick's clothes were floating in the water beside him.

"No….Annie, wait…oh crap"

What Annie didn't know about, and what Finnick had just remembered was the engagement ring that had been safely tucked away in his trouser pocket. Finnick frantically searched the soaking garment, but the ring was of course gone. As was Annie, who had gathered her own clothes and marched back to the hotel, leaving Finnick alone and ring-less on the beach.

Back at the hotel, after a long night of chatting with guests, Katniss made her way back to her room. Before she could open the door however, she was alerted to voices on the other side. Chatting and laughter. Familiar laughter. She swung open the door.

"Katniss….look it's Katniss!"

Johanna was lying slumped on the bed, wracked with laughter. Gale, sitting on the bedside table was also doubled over in amusement.

"I came to the wrong room" Johanna managed to choke out " But mine's is….mine's is on the floor below….."

"Why aren't you laughing Katniss?" chortled Gale, tears in his eyes and his mouth in a wide smile "This is….this…is the funniest thing that's ever happened!"

Then he hiccupped, and he and Johanna burst into another loud roar of laughter. Katniss sighed, she was too tired for this.

"Johanna, I'd like to go to bed now. You think you can maybe find your way back to your own room?"

"No, but I can try"

So Johanna stumbled back down the hallway, Katniss prepared herself for bed and Gale tried and failed to stop laughing. But none of them heard the cry of agony echoing from outside the hotel.


	3. What A Charming Notion

_**What A Charming Notion-**_

The sun was bright- too bright-as it shone through the curtains. Blinding sunlight is never the first thing you want to experience after waking with a hangover. Neither is a loud knock on your bedroom door.

Katniss groaned, throwing back the covers and forcing herself out of the bed- where Gale still lay with a pillow over his head to block out the persistent sunlight. Pulling on her bathrobe over her pyjamas, Katniss opened the door. Big mistake. It turns out another thing you never want to see during a hangover is Effie Trinket's bright, bedazzled outfit.

"Aren't you up yet?" Effie asked, surprised.

"No" yawned Katniss, rubbing her eyes "Why, what time is it?"

"Time you were downstairs. The scavenger hunt starts in less than half an hour, and it simply cannot be rescheduled."

Katniss groaned again. The scavenger hunt was some silly ideas of Effie's, meant to help the wedding guests bond and get to know one another better. It involved breaking off into small teams, and visiting various locations around the island. The small mercy was that Katniss and Gale wouldn't have to take part, but they would need to go downstairs and make sure everyone understood the task.

Effie left them alone, scurrying off to awake some other guests and muttering about time wasters. Katniss knew for a fact that at least a third of the guests would be almost too hung-over to function, let alone partake in a scavenger hunt, but the odds of Effie rescheduling for later in the day were as unlikely as the hotel suddenly bursting into flame.

After pulling on a blue sundress and throwing water on her face in an attempt to wake up, Katniss proceeded to try and waken her sleeping fiancé.

"Gale, you need to get ready" she whispering, attempting to pry the pillow away from his face. No luck there though, as he kept it firmly in his grasp.

"Don't want to" he mumbled, his words somewhat muffled against the pillow. "Let's just stay here".

"I wish, but come on. You've got twenty minutes to get downstairs". Said Katniss, giving him a rough shake. If she had to be up and awake, then so should he. Gale let out a loud sight before sitting up and tossing the pillow aside.

"Fine" he groaned "But I'm going to kill that wedding planner"

"Get in line" Katniss quickly pressed her lips to Gale's, before leaving him to get dressed. Downstairs on the terrace several people were already waiting, having been rounded up and herded outside by Effie.

"Katniss, you're here!"

Delly Cartwright's screech was so loud that several people covered their ears.

"Yeah….I'm here" said Katniss, wincing at the sound.

"Oh my goodness, this is going to be so much fun. A scavenger hunt! Wow, how did you think of such a good idea? And we get to work in teams. Oh, I wonder who I'll get to go with"

Whoever Delly would be teamed with, Katniss couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Luckily, Peeta Mellark chose this moment to arrive outside.

"Morning" he said politely as he joined Katniss and Delly.

"Aren't you just so excited?" Delly asked him "I mean, we're going to get to see the island and chat with new people and…"

"Yeah it'll be fun" said Peeta, but the grimace he flashed Katniss when Delly turned away said otherwise. Clearly, he shared the bride-to-be's feeling over the whole ordeal.

"Oh god, it's bright out here" said Gale as he stepped out onto the terrace and slipped his arm around Katniss's waist. "The minute everyone leaves for this thing I'm going right back to sleep."

"I'm right behind you on that one" said Katniss, leaning back into his embrace. "You remember Delly and Peeta, don't you? They went to school with us".

"I think so" said Gale, shaking hands with Peeta and Delly in turn "Sorry, it's a little early in the morning to remember everyone I went to school with".

"I get what you mean" said Peeta, friendly as ever "I could barely open my eyes this morning".

The shrillness of Effie Trinket's voice echoed around the patio. Between her and Delly, Katniss was sure that her head might just split open.

"Is everyone here? Is everyone ready? Excellent! Now why don't we get the bride and groom up here to explain the rules"

"Ok…" Katniss began wearily as everyone turned to face the couple "Umm,…four places you need to visit."

"The Hob, it's an open bar so be kind" said Gale, looking at the map for reference "Then down to the Eastern beach, the church we're getting married in and then umm… the marina. Think you can manage that?"

Several people, the more competitive guest, cheered while others politely clapped.

"In each location there's a task to compete, so have fun." Finished Katniss, receiving an approving nod from Effie.

Maps were handed out and teams were assigned. Katniss was somewhat amused to notice that Johanna (who was barely awake and more irritable looking than ever) had been placed in the yellow group with Delly, along with Finnick, Vick Hawthorne and Thresh- who had played football with Gale since their college days.

The blue group, made up of Prim, Annie, Peeta and Madge set off first- heading for the Eastern beach, closely followed by the red team. The yellow group took their time leaving, eventually opting to go to the Hob to take full advantage of its open bar. It was the green group which lingered the longest, due to the fact that two of it's team members were missing. Or rather, one was missing. The other was refusing to participate.

"I'm not going, I don't see the point" Enobaria shrugged.

"It's just a bit of fun" Effie was saying in what was supposedly an encouraging voice. "If your team completes the challenge first you could win a bottle of champagne. You don't want to miss out on that, do you?"

"I'll live" said Enobaria dryly. "I'm not going. I'm staying here until my husband comes to apologise and that's final."

"Why does he need to apologise?" asked Katniss, eager to herd the groups off so she could retreat back under her bedcovers. Come to think of it though, she hadn't seen her Uncle Brutus since dinner the night before. Enobaria shot Katniss a look.

"Because he never came back to the room last night. No doubt passed out drunk somewhere. I need to be here when he stumbles back in so I can give him a piece of my mind"

"But…." Effie began, but Katniss cut her off.

"If Enobaria wants to stay she can. The team can manage without her, can't you guys". The green group nodded tentatively, probably relieved to not have to work with the hostile woman.

"Good, it's settled then" said Katniss with finality "Can I go back to my room now?"

As the yellow team entered the Hob bar, they heard loud cheers and laughter coming from inside.

"Ooohh, a party!" exclaimed Delly. She seemed to be right, the crowd of people grouped in the small bar did seem to be involved in some kind of celebration. Behind the bar, an older guy was lazily polishing pint glasses with a dirty old rag. Looking up, he addressed the newly arrived group.

"You here for the scavenger hunt?" he asked gruffly." Because I've got the question sheet here"

"No" said Johanna quickly "We're just here for a drink"

"But….." Delly began to pipe up but was immediately cut off by Johanna stamping on her foot. She remained quiet for the next few minutes while the rest of them ordered drinks and settled onto bar stools.

"So what's going on over there?" Thresh asked the barman, who's name tag said "Haymitch", motioning over to the celebration that was taking place.

"Oh, that. You see that couple over there?" said Haymitch, pointing into the crowd. "They've been on and off for years, break up all the time. Anyway, this morning they were walking along beach and they found this diamond ring in the sand. The guy takes it as a sign and proposes on the spot".

"Oh how romantic" squealed Delly. "Like something out of a movie"

Finnick though, was less enthusiastic. Getting off the bar stool and crossing the room to take a closer look, his fears were confirmed. Glinting on the woman's left hand was a 1.5 carat princess cut diamond ring. And how did Finnick know this? Because he was the one who had bought it.

"Something wrong, hot stuff?" asked Johanna, appearing at his side with a bottle of beer in her hand.

"No….well yeah. But you can't tell Annie"

"I promise" smirked Johanna, crossing her heart. Finnick sighed, and then made is confession.

"You see that ring?" Johanna nodded "That's my ring. I bought it for Annie but it got lost on the beach last night."

"You were going to propose?" asked Johanna, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah" admitted Finnick sadly. Now he wouldn't get the chance

"With that ring?"

"Yeah"

"But now they have it?"

"I thought that was all pretty clear"

"So go get it back" said Johanna simply, taking a sip from her drink.

"I'm not just going to march over there and pull the ring off her finger. I can't do that"

"I can" winked Johanna, and with that she thrust the bottle into Finnick's hands and flounced over to the happy couple.


End file.
